“The Phenom” of WWE — The Undertaker — continues his media tour to promote his ongoing WWE original documentary series, “Undertaker: The Last Ride (Chapter 3) — “End Of An Era”, discussing plans for his official retirement from the company while talking with Post Media.
The Undertaker reflected on his career, retirement, the “Undertaker” character and more. Featured below are highlights:
On his “Undertaker: The Last Ride” docuseries
“Funny enough, we never set out to do a docuseries. Going into WrestleMania 33 against Roman (Reigns), I thought that was going to be my last match. I was extremely beat up, I needed my hip replaced and I just wanted to capture those last few days, my interactions with talent and (WWE Chairman) Vince (McMahon) and my family (on film). I didn’t know what we were going to do with it, but I just knew that I wasn’t going to have another chance and I wanted it.”
On allowing WWE’s camera crew to follow him around
“It’s really been a process to force myself to let my guard down. Even as we started getting into this, I’d have a camera crew and I’d be backstage and I’d see them filming and I’d turn around and snap at them like ‘What are you guys doing? You guys know better. Then it would dawn on me: ‘Oh yeah, you’re following me. I told you to do this. I asked you.’ I don’t know if liberating is the word, because I’m a very private person anyway, when I’m at home and not working, but it’s kind of been nice to be able to enlighten my fan base. It has been so loyal through the years, especially in this age when there is a flavour of the week, it seems, all the time. For my fan base, they’ve stuck with me forever and it’s been nice to be able to kind of pull back some of the curtain and let them see what it takes for me to go out and do what I love for the fans.”
Evolving into the American Badass
“I made the real big change when I went to the American Badass (character) because I felt like I needed to let (the original character) rest for a little bit. I think I would have really struggled in the Attitude Era doing the old school Undertaker. The shackles were off and it was everything goes (at the time) and it would have been tough for me to compete, promo-wise, with backstage interviews and everything else that everybody was doing, guys like Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle. It would have been really difficult for me to be true to the character.”
The Undertaker/Kane/Paul Bearer storyline
“The Undertaker character was already on its way. (Creative) felt like we needed to switch something up so Paul turned on me and aligned with Mankind. We introduced what some, I guess, consider the greatest storyline ever. My long lost stepbrother who was supposed to have died in a fire and he is Paul Bearer’s son. There was just so many layers to it and it all goes back to the very beginning of what I started because when I first started, I was introduced as Kane The Undertaker. Immediately, people where like ‘Whoa, I wonder.’ People thought that had been in the plans for all those years and just waited for the right time to come loose, but it all just kind of fell together. The development of all three of the characters, they so intertwined each other forever. It was great.”
Retirement & his legacy
“I’ll never, ever retire completely. I may not get in the ring and wrestle anymore, but I’ll always somehow be involved I’m sure within the industry. For 30 years, I’ve been a mainstay in the ring. I guess there is a lot of layers to that. Part of my legacy is that I’m proud of the fact that I never had to do anything lowdown or shady or backstabbing to (make it). I’m proud of the fact that everything that I achieved, I worked my tail off for. I’m proud of the fact that my peers looked upon me as a leader. I didn’t seek that out, it just happened. It’s really humbling to hear guys talk about my leadership in the locker room.”
To read the whole interview, click TorontoSun.com.
“The Phenom” of #WWE, #Undertaker, talks at length about his plans for #wrestling #retirement while promoting #UndertakerTheLastRide …
LINK: https://t.co/NPQusOD9Kj pic.twitter.com/kzlSWBf07n
— Matt Boone (@MattBoone1984) May 24, 2020
UNDERTAKER: THE LAST RIDE WWE NETWORK DOCUMENTARY VIDEOS
* WATCH: Undertaker: The Last Dance (Chapter 3) – “End Of An Era” (VIDEO)
* VIDEO: What You DIDN’T See On Undertaker: The Last Ride Episode 2 (Part One)
* VIDEO: What You DIDN’T See On Undertaker: The Last Ride Episode 2 (Part Two)
* WATCH: Undertaker: The Last Ride (Chapter 2) – “The Redemption” (VIDEO)
* WATCH: Undertaker: The Last Ride (Chapter 1) – “The Greatest Fear” (VIDEO)
* Undertaker’s Son Gunner Calaway Ahead Of Wrestling Debut (PHOTOS)
WWE & Chat / Discussion At eWrestling
* For late-breaking WWE & AEW news & rumors, follow our social media reporter on Twitter @MattBoone1984
* Follow the official eWrestling account on Twitter @eWrestlingCOM
* Follow the official eWrestling Facebook page at Facebook.com/eWrestlingCOM
* Chat with other fans about this article in the official eWrestling Disqus feed below, or at Disqus.com/home/forums/http-ewrestling-com
